BOSTON — Republican Charles Baker has laid low since Election Day, saying Friday that he hasn't given much thought to his political future following his six-point loss to Gov. Deval Patrick in the race for governor last month.

"My short-term goal is very simple, which is, find a job," he told the News Service, after singing Christmas carols with a pre-school class in the Boston Common. "The process for me is the same that everybody else goes through. You kiss a lot of frogs and then hopefully one of 'em turns into a prince."

But Baker's own uncertainty hasn't stopped top Massachusetts Republicans from floating his name as a contender for the Corner Office in 2014.

"I would encourage Charlie Baker to do it again," Jennifer Nassour, chair of Massachusetts Republican Party said Sunday in an interview on WCVB. "He did a great job. He would walk in with a great reputation."

Although Baker lost to Patrick, a Democrat, 48-42, with Independent Tim Cahill picking up 8 percent and Green Rainbow candidate Jill Stein grabbing 1 percent, Baker captured nearly 1 million votes and won counties in central and southeastern Massachusetts.

Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh, seated alongside Nassour, agreed that Baker could be the GOP's man in 2012 because "it's a pretty short bench over there."

If Baker were to run, all indications are that it won't be against the office's current occupant. Gov. Patrick has insisted that his second term will be his last and that he intends to serve for the full four years. Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray has been eyed as a contender for the seat in 2014 and Patrick, when asked last month if he would endorse Murray in the next race, said "Yes, indeed."

In his interview Friday, Baker, seen by the party faithful as their best option against Patrick this year, wouldn't tip his hand about the possibility of another run.

"You've obviously thought a lot harder about this than I have," he said, adding, "I haven't thought that hard about it. I'm just spending a lot of time with my wife and my kids. We also spent a lot of time helping a lot of kids who worked on the campaign" write resumes and find jobs.

Baker said he keeps in touch with his former running mate, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei. "Senator Tisei and I exchange jokes almost daily. He's a great guy and I was happy to run with him," Baker said.

But Baker wouldn't address comments Tisei made to the News Service in the weeks following the election in which Tisei suggested a "timid" Massachusetts business community had been "co-opted" by those who support one-party rule on Beacon Hill and failed to provide a natural base of support to Republicans.

"The past is the past and I'm looking ahead," Baker said.

House Minority Leader Bradley Jones told the News Service he believes Baker should "give a long, hard look to running in 2014 for governor."

"I would welcome Charlie Baker to run again for anything he chooses to," said Jones, who added that he saw Baker over the weekend. "There's no indication that the things at the State House that need fixing are on the path to being fixed."

Jones said he believed Baker's position on many issues facing Massachusetts had been validated in the weeks after the election - including the notion that the state faces a $2 billion budget gap. Jones also noted that the Patrick administration "begrudgingly" signed onto a federal effort this week to crack down in illegal immigration, an effort that Baker had promised to join during the campaign but that the Patrick administration had questioned.

Jones agreed that the bench of electable Republicans "historically hasn't been as deep as the Democratic bench" but he said a crop of Republicans newly elected to the Massachusetts House could be candidates for higher office in two or four years.

Baker's next career move could indicate whether he intends to run for office again, particularly if he takes a position that will allow him to maintain his role as "a public figure or a public persona," Jones said. He added that Baker's fundraising and political strategy might be more effective in a race for an open Corner Office, as opposed to against an incumbent.

Baker declined to say whether he's looking to reenter the health care industry. His 10-year tenure atop Harvard Pilgrim Health Care - one that saw the company transformed from near-insolvency to a thriving national leader - was a factor in his 2010 candidacy. Baker cited the company's turnaround as part of his effort to craft an image as a turnaround artist, while Patrick contrasted his CEO salary at the major health insurer with large surges in health insurance costs under his watch.

In his next career move Baker plans to seek out "something to fix," he said. "If I spend a whole ton of time hanging around my house, I'm in a whole lot of trouble," he said with a laugh, before traversing the Common to continue caroling at the foot of the State House.